Five years
by The Lonely Wolf Needs A Star
Summary: Manifest!AU - Olivia and Fitz are married. She takes a plane from Atlanta to DC but when she lands, she learns that she and everyone on the plane have been missing, presumed dead, for over five years. What happens when she discovers that Fitz is now President and has remarried? And what are those strange voices she and everyone on the plane keep on hearing? #Olitz endgame #Slowburn
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything**

PROLOGUE

"Ms Pope, have you already filed for divorce?"

"Ms Pope, how do you feel about Governor Grant being seen having dinner with Mellie Williams?"

"Ms Pope, did you plan the argument as a political stunt?"

"Ms Pope, is someone from your firm going to represent you during yours and Governor Grant's divorce?"

Olivia was overwhelmed. There were reporters and photographers coming at her from all sides, shoving cameras and microphones in her face. After a few stunned seconds, she retrieved her wits and started backing up to get back into the building where she would be relatively safe from the press. Just as she was about to open the door, Harrison and Huck materialised at her sides and took her by the arms to lead her through the crowd of reporters to get to Harrison's car which was parked down the steps leading to her building.

The reporters closed in on the car but Harrison managed to get them out of there quickly. From the back of the cab, Olivia's mind was going a thousands miles a minutes, she couldn't understand what was going on. The silence inside the car was deafening after the screams coming from the crowd. No one talked until Harrison had driven around a few blocks and went through a couple of underground parking lots to make sure they weren't being followed. Only then did Huck turn around from the passenger seat.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Olivia didn't answer. She was still shocked about what had happened. How did they know about the argument? Had Fitz really been having dinner with Mellie after what they'd said to each other last night? Why would anyone think that them arguing was a political stunt? It didn't make any sense.

"Olivia?" Huck prompted.

"I'm fine," she whispered, looking out the window. "How do they...? I mean what... How?"

"There's a video," Harrison said. "A video of you and Fitz arguing, talking about getting a divorce and about Mellie Williams."

Olivia was stunned. A video of them? How had this happened? They were the only ones home when they had argued, how could anyone had filmed them?

"Who?" she asked.

"We don't know."

Soon after, they arrived at OPA. Harrison drove through the crowd of reporters who were also waiting down their offices and into the underground parking. When they stepped out of the elevator, Abby and Quinn were waiting for them in the hall. As soon as they saw Olivia, they started talking, already planning how to handle the scandal. Olivia walked through them, still silent, and went into her office, sitting down behind her desk.

The others followed her and stood before the desk, still discussing different strategies, but Olivia wasn't listening. She needed to think. She needed time and space to think but she knew she couldn't have any. The press was all over DC, waiting for her to move or make a statement. The elections for the Republican Primaries were getting closer and Fitz was considered to be the favorite, of course the press was all over this. Nothing better than a video leaked about them arguing to destroy the good family image necessary for a Republican candidate to win.

She knew that if they were going to make it through with both their political careers as intact as possible, they needed to make a statement quickly. But first, she needed to assess the damage - she needed to know what was on that video exactly. Then she'd make an official statement.

"Olivia? Olivia, what do you think?" Abby called.

Olivia rose her eyes from the desk to find her whole team looking at her expectantly. She rubbed her eyes and sighed.

"Turn on the news. We need to see what they're saying."

"Olivia," Abby started "I'm not sure you're gonna want to hear what they're saying."

"I may not but we'll treat this like any other case and as objectively as possible so I need you to turn on the news so I know how bad it is."

Abby nodded and Harrison turned on the TV.

"_Grant would have been a great choice for the next presidential elections' conservative candidate but after today's events, he now has very few chances of even making it through the Primaries. Earlier today, an anonymous source sent a video to all the news outlets in Washington of Governor Grant and his wife Olivia Pope arguing - and quite violently I must say. On this video, it is pretty clear that their relationship is not as perfect as they've always made it seem in public. Ms Pope even suggested a divorce, as you can see in the following extract."_

The screen faded black before a very low-quality video of Olivia and Fitz arguing in the middle of their living room appeared.

_"This is obviously not working, we should stop hurting each other and stop pretending," Olivia told Fitz._

_"I'm not pretending, Olivia, it's never been about pretending for me."_

_"And you're saying it is for me?"_

_"I'm saying you're the one holding back. I'm not the one who insists on keeping my old apartment, or my name, or always push back the time to have kids."_

_"This is low, Fitz." Olivia hissed at his face. "We talked about it and you agreed that it wasn't the right time for us to have kids."_

_"No, I never said that, you just heard what you wanted to hear, like always. I've been wanting to have kids for years now, but it's never the right time for you and I'm starting to think there's never going to be a right time for you!"_

_"That's not fair. We're both focusing on our careers, it's not fair of you to ask me to sacrifice everything to have kids while you're running for President and going after what you want."_

_"I'm sorry, I didn't know that having a family with me was such a huge sacrifice for you! I'm not asking you to give up your career for me, I never did. But if you didn't want to have kids, then maybe you should have mentioned that earlier don't you think? Like before our marriage!"_

_"Maybe I should have, then maybe we wouldn't be stuck in this dead marriage."_

_"'Dead marriage'? Really, Olivia? I'm working my ass off for us, I've always put you first, put your happiness first, but you would rather give up on us completely than consider my feelings and expectations for just one minute? What are you going to say next? That you want a divorce, that you don't want to be with me anymore?" Fitz screamed._

_"Yes," Olivia said calmly, taking a step back. "Yes, I think we should get a divorce. I can't do this anymore, Fitz, I can't keep fighting with you all the time." Olivia picked up her coat and walked out the door and the screen transitioned back to the journalist sitting behind her desk._

_"Well, this was quite a scene."_

Harrison turned the sound off and they all turned back to Olivia.

"I need a minute."

"What?" Abby exclaimed. "No, we need to get on top of this right now!"

"I know, but I need a minute."

Harrison pushed Abby gently out the door and the others followed. Olivia sighed and cradled her head in her hands. What was she going to do? This was bad, this was really bad. They had captured the worst of their argument. It wasn't the worst argument they had ever had but it was the worst one in a while. They had been arguing quite a lot lately and except for the ending, it was very similar to every other argument they have had.

The argument had started like many before. She'd gone home late from work, forgetting about an election-related event, and Fitz had been waiting for her, sitting on the couch. As soon as the door had closed behind her, he had gotten up and looked at her. His face was contorted with anger.

"Oh, shit! The dinner!" Olivia had exclaimed. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot."

From there, it had went downhill. He got angry at her, saying that she was always forgetting campaign related events and that it was sinking him and putting him in delicate positions all the time. He accused her of not thinking about him and making it all about her whereas the election was coming up and for once, it should be about him. Olivia got angry too and they just started screaming accusations at each other.

"Well, if you wanted the perfect political wife, then you should have married Mellie Williams, like your father wanted you to!" Olivia had thrown back at some point.

Mellie Williams had always been a sore point between the two of them. His father had been pushing him to marry her for years, and even now that Fitz and Olivia were married, he was still regularly hinting broadly - whether Olivia was in the room or not - that he would do better with an old republican family like the Williams on his side, especially with such an educated and beautiful wife as Mellie. A wife who wouldn't cause any trouble. A discreet and supportive wife. A wife who wasn't black. A wife who would happily give up her career for the sake of her husband's. Things Olivia wasn't prepared to do or be.

But the video didn't show all of that. Most importantly, the video didn't show what had happened after she had left. Because she came back only minutes afterwards. She had been sitting in her car for a few minutes before she got out and ran back to the house, barging in the living room where Fitz was looking out the window. He turned around when he heard her and they dashed towards each other, colliding in the middle of the room where they had furious, angry sex. Then, while Fitz was asleep, Olivia left and went back to her apartment. She left because no matter how much she loved him, no matter how much she felt the need to cling onto him and ignore their argument, she knew that their marriage was indeed not working and maybe it was really time for them to stop hurting each other. Love wasn't everything, sometimes love wasn't enough.

A few hours later, sitting in her office at OPA, Olivia still didn't know what to do - was there something worth saving between them? Did they have any hope of making it through or was it really it for their marriage?

She stayed alone for a while, thinking it through, knowing that she needed to make a decision before making a statement to the press because if either of them was going to make it through politically, they needed to stay coherent and consistent. Whatever she told the press today, she would need to stick with it.

After a while, Harrison knocked on the door and entered as Olivia waved him in.

"Are you ready?"

Just as she opened her mouth to answer, a call echoed from the hall.

"Hello? Is anyone here? Hello?"

It was a woman's voice. Olivia saw Huck get up from his chair in the conference room and walk out of the room, He was probably the best one out of them all to handle the reporter looking for a statement and brave - or stupid - enough to come all the way up to her offices. Huck was always so inexpressive and quiet and it took a lot more to rile him up than anyone else at the office.

"Excuse-me- no! You don't understand! No, we want to speak to Olivia Pope! We need to speak with Olivia Pope!"

The woman could be heard screaming all the way down to Olivia's office. Then a man's voice joined it.

"Take your hands off my wife!"

"You need to leave, Ms Pope has no comment," Olivia heard Huck say.

"Comment?" the woman asked. "Oh no- we're not reporters, you're mistaken, we want to hire Ms Pope! Please, you need to let us talk to her, it's urgent, our daughter's missing!"

Olivia instantly got up from her chair. There was no mistaking the urgency and fear in the woman's voice. She was not a reporter. The others followed her from the conference room to the hall where Huck was standing beside a middle-age couple.

The woman was small and had a mass of curly brown hair. The man was tall, had a massive blond beard and blond hair. They both looked as though they hadn't slept in weeks.

* * *

"We have other things to focus on, I say we don't take their case, the police is already on it," Abby said.

The couple - who had introduced themselves as Nathalie and Marc Anderson - were sitting in the conference room while Olivia, Quinn, Abby, Huck, and Harrison were watching them from the other room, discussing their case. Mr Anderson was Governor of Georgia and had heard of OPA through a colleague.

"And as Mrs Anderson mentioned, Atlanta is way outside of our field." Harrison put in.

"Their daughter is missing, according to what they've said, there are clear signs of kidnapping, the police hasn't been able to find her, I say they need us." Quinn, as always, empathized more with the clients.

"Huck?" Olivia prompted.

He didn't answer for a while, observing the couple on the other side of the glass doors.

"Part of their family is missing, they need it back," he eventually said.

"We're taking the case." Olivia announced.

It was the right thing to do and it would give her exactly what she needed: time and space to think about Fitz, about their marriage, about her future.

* * *

"I've got it!" Huck exclaimed.

They were in a small motel room in a town just outside Atlanta. They had been working on the Anderson's missing daughter case for days and after following several leads that were dead ends, they had finally found her.

Olivia dialed Abby's number.

"We were right," she said when Abby answered. "It's the ex-boyfriend. Stay in your car and keep watch until the police get there."

"It's always the boyfriend. The creepy bastard!"

A couple of hours later, Alexis Anderson had been found tied up and cuffed to a bed in a dirty motel, and taken to a hospital, checked out and discharged. Her drugged and stalking ex-boyfriend was taken to the station.

Alexis, Olivia and the whole team went to the airport to wait for their flight back to DC where the Andersons were waiting as per Olivia's orders. They had been wanting to join them on their trip to Atlanta and help search for their daughter but given how distressed and panicked they were, she had deemed more prudent to ask them to stay behind.

Olivia was relieved they had finally found Alexis. In the past couple of days, she had started to believe they were going to be too late but they hadn't been and in a few hours the family would finally be reunited. That relief was however shrouded by the fact that as soon as she would be back in DC, she would have to deal with the press and Fitz. He had sent her a couple of texts and left a few messages on her voicemail but she hadn't listened to them. She soon would have to, and then make a decision that would probably change both their lives forever but she still had no idea what that decision would be.

It had been two days since the video of their argument had been leaked and she still hadn't made a single statement to the press but Cyrus probably did on behalf of Fitz. Even though he and Olivia were friends, she had no doubt he would do anything to protect Fitz's chances of being President and that included throwing Olivia under the bus. She hadn't checked the papers or the news in the two days they had been gone but as soon as their plane landed in DC, she would have no choice but to face it all.

Which is why, when a hostess called on the PA system for volunteers to take the following flight to DC because the current flight had been over-sold, Olivia took the $400 offered by the company and waited for the next flight. Huck and Harrison decided to stay with her. She knew they were staying because they were worried about her and she tried telling them she was fine and didn't need them to stay with her, but they wouldn't listen. What surprised her was Alexis' request to stay behind too but she agreed to it when Alexis insisted that she needed some more time before seeing her parents.

In the end, only Abby and Quinn took the first flight back while Huck, Harrison, Alexis and Olivia waited for flight 828.

Funny how one little decision can ruin your life. But also save it.

* * *

Review? :)


	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

"I know you don't want to talk about it Olivia," Harrison started "but you can't avoid this forever. We've been away for three days now and the whole thing is not going to die down on its own. Once we step out of that plane, you're gonna have to deal with it."

"I know," Olivia sighed. She looked at the clouds out the plane window for a while before turning to face Harrison and sharing in a rare moment of openness. "I just don't know how to deal with it. I thought with some time and space I would figure it out and I would find a solution, some kind of answer about what I wanted to do but there's no good solution. Either way, I'm going to hurt him, you know? And I don't want to do that. I never wanted to be the one to hurt him."

"You know that no matter what happens, we'll have your back right?"

"I can't ask you to do that. The press falling-out might be bad. I'll be called any name under the sun," she scoffed "Cyrus will make sure of that if I ruin Fitz's chances to elected."

"You don't have to ask us," Huck intervened from his seat on the row behind them. "Over a cliff, remember?"

Olivia had a small smile, thinking about how grateful she was for the amazingly loyal people she had in her life. Suddenly, a storm broke out and the plane started to shake. The lights above her were blinking and some bags and suitcases flew out of their lockers above the seats, landing on passengers. Olivia gripped her armrests and looked at the others in distress. The plane swayed to the right before shaking some more, alarming beeping sounds were coming from everywhere and bags were moving around in the cabin. The steward and stewardess were trying to reassure the passengers it was only some turbulence when the lights went out completely and people started screaming for good.

Everything seemed to still for a couple of infinitely long seconds and Olivia held her breath before it all went to hell. Lighting-bolts got closer and closer to the plane, lights pouring out the plane's windows for a brief second each time, allowing Olivia to see the terrified faces of all the passengers by flashes. They were now in the eye of the storm. The plane had another jolt, then Olivia felt as though they were in free fall and she held on for dear life onto her seat, certain she was about to die, but with one last sway of the plane, the lights were back on and everything went back to normal. The beeping sounds stopped, people quit screaming, the plane wasn't shaking anymore. They were out of the storm.

"Wow, terribly sorry folks," the captain said over the PA. "That was extreme turbulence resulting from a sudden weather surge that was not on the radar. Rest assured engine controls are okay but please keep those seatbelts fastened."

Olivia turned to Harrison and Alexis, making sure they were okay before turning around to check on Huck. Everyone seemed a bit shaken up but alright.

* * *

When his co-pilot announced they were only a few minutes away, the captain sighed in relief. It had been a close one and to say he was glad to land was an understatement.

"Air approach," he called over the radio "Delta Air Lines 828, level 1, 5,000."

"This is Washington approach, hum... repeat your callsign please."

"Yeah, DAL 828."

There was a pregnant pause.

"Repeat, Delta Air Lines 828, Atlanta to Reagan National, copy that?"

Another long pause and the captain and his co-pilot exchanged a confused look.

"Can I get your name, captain, and the number of passengers and crew on your manifest?"

"Hum... this is captain Dale Henson, we have 191 souls on board, all of whom would love to touch down on one of your runways."

Weirdly, he was then asked to divert to another, more secluded, airport just outside of DC. No matter how much he insisted on knowing the reason why, he did not get a clear answer from his correspondent on the radio.

* * *

Olivia was relieved when the plane touched down even though it was in the wrong airport, she would just have to warn Abby and Quinn that they needed to be picked up over here instead.

There was a scatter of applause before the stewardess announced:

"Yes, we did people. Welcome to Washington DC where the local time is 11:49 pm. On behalf of your flight crew, we'd like to thank you for flying with Delta Air Lines."

Olivia picked up her phone to text Abby but there was no service. One look at Harrison and Huck taught her they were having the same issue. She sighed - this flight really wasn't a success.

"And the inconvenience continue," the captain announced. "We've been asked to deplane right here on the tarmac."

A child in front of her seemed excited about it but to Olivia, it was just one more aggravation.

She heard lots of sirens in the distance getting closer and she frowned - that was unusual. They grabbed their stuff and got out of the plane on the tarmac where they were asked by some security agents and policemen to wait on one side, the captain and crew on the other.

More police officers arrived in numerous patrol cars, followed by ambulances and army trucks. As if that wasn't enough, a dozen of black SUVs arrived and parked around the plane. About fifty men and women wearing FBI and NSA coats got out of the cars and posted themselves around the plane and passengers. Those who seemed to be the leading agents directly went to the captain and the crew, taking over from the discussion they were having with the police officers already present on scene.

Alexis turned away from the heated discussion that seemed to be happening and asked Olivia, "When do they do this? Is it like a training exercise?"

"No," she answered. "They never do that."

Harrison, Huck and her exchanged some loaded and worried looks. This didn't feel good, something was happening.

The discussion between the captain and the federal agents got more heated and the captain took a step back, running his hands in his hair, clearly frustrated with what he was being told.

Olivia stepped forward and called "Excuse me? What exactly is the problem?"

One of the federal agents moved towards her and the rest of the passengers and watched them carefully for a few seconds before answering.

"The problem, ladies and gentlemen, is your plane departed Atlanta, Georgia on July, 12th, 2014. Today, is August, 4th, 2019." There was a stunned silence before the passengers all started to whisper protestingly. The agent continued. "You've all been missing, presumed dead, for over five years."

At that, noises of outrage spread across the nearly two hundreds passengers. Olivia and her team looked at one another questioningly, not knowing how to respond to such an impossible statement.

* * *

Olivia raised her head as Harrison returned to their tent in the hangar where all the passengers were being confined. There were some sorts of camping beds in lines inside the tents. They had already been there for a while and everyone seemed exhausted, yet unable to sleep. All the passengers were sitting huddled in groups on the beds, waiting for their turns to be called and brought into the interview area.

Olivia arched her eyebrow questioningly at Harrison, waiting for him to tell them what had happened after he'd been called by one of the agents. He sat next to her feet, at the end of her bed where she was holding Alexis close while Huck was standing beside them, constantly looking around the tent, observing the soldiers' patrolling patterns. Olivia had tried to convince him to sit down with them and rest for a while but he had categorically refused.

"They're interrogating people on the other side of the hangar," Harrison explained in hushed tones so as to not be overheard by the soldiers patrolling among the passengers. "The captain and the rest of the crew are all being kept separated from the passengers and there are even more federal agents than before if you can believe it."

"This is crazy," Alexis murmured. "They can't be serious about this!"

"Oh they're very serious, believe me," he replied. "They kept asking me where we landed before coming here, where we went, what we did during those five years... When my answers didn't seem to please them, they asked me to tell them about everything that has happened from the moment the plane left to the moment we landed here. I did and they didn't seem to believe me."

"This is either the most elaborated prank ever," Olivia said, "or we're going crazy."

"I'm leaning towards governmental experiment right now," Harrison answered.

Huck, as often, remained silent.

When Olivia's turn was up, she was more than ready to get some answers. They had been kept in ridiculous conditions for over two days and under constant surveillance like some kind of terrorists and she was done with it. However the agents interrogating her didn't seem willing to share and were determined to get her to answer their questions as many times as possible.

"I already, told you. We left on time, we were in the air for about twenty minutes when there were some pretty intense turbulence, then it stopped, and an hour later we landed. That's it! Nothing more happened, it was a 1H30 flight!"

"Except it wasn't, Ms Pope," the female agent said.

"Oh for fuck's sake, you're not gonna start again with your five years nonsense!"

"Ms Pope, can you tell us where you landed before landing here?" the male agent asked.

"As I, and I'm sure every other passenger on this plane, have already told you: we did not land anywhere but here."

"Ms Pope," the female agent said in a soft tone, getting closer to her "no matter what happened, you won't be punished for it, you can trust us. You can tell us what really happened."

Olivia sat back, moving away from the agent, and sighed.

"This has to stop, I want to speak to someone in charge, I want some answers!"

"Ms Pope, please calm down and answer our question. What happened-"

"No," she cut him off. "I want to know when you are going to let us go, this charade has to stop now. You don't have any legal right to detain us. I want to speak to someone in charge." She paused, then added "And I want to speak to my husband."

At the mention of her husband, the two agents exchanged loaded looks from the other side of the table.

"Thank you Ms Pope, that'll be all, please return to your seat," the woman told her with a tense face, clearly dismissing her.

Olivia sighed once more and got up - she wouldn't get any answers out of these two. Escorted by two agents in uniform, she went through all the plastic walls that had been installed all over the hangar and went back to her team.

* * *

The NSA director stood on a platform above the plane, observing the dozens of agents analysing, photographing and bagging all and any evidence from the plane.

"Director Rosen," one of his colleagues called, joining him on the platform "we interviewed every last one of them. Nothing. And we still haven't come across a single substance dating from any time between the day the flight took off and when it returned. It's as if the plane never left the sky."

"Do I have to say out loud that that's impossible?"

"Director, no one on that plane aged a day. I think we've taken impossible off the table."

The Director sighed, thinking about what he was going to have to report to the White House. His first report had been tense enough...

_A few hours earlier..._

Cyrus sat in his chair, frozen at the news they had just been given. It was impossible. It was absolutely impossible. He slowly turned to Fitz and saw that he too had frozen.

They had received a call a little earlier, informing them of the approach of a plane which claimed to be DAL 828 but it wouldn't have been the first time they had a false alert and until this moment, Cyrus was convinced it was just one more.

During the past five years, Fitz had lost so much of himself and Cyrus had been forced to assist to his disintegration, unable to do anything to stop it. He watched a strong, vibrant and powerful man turn into a shallow version of himself, a man who was barely alive - simply going through the motions, as though waiting for real life to come back to him. On the inside, he was destroyed but, politician until the end, in public he was still doing everything right, what was expected of him and it had paid off in the end but even though the politician remained, the man was long gone.

But looking at him right then, Cyrus thought Fitz looked like a man waking up from an awful nightmare - a man trapped in those confusing few seconds when nightmare and reality blend in to the point where he is unable to distinguish one from the other.

Everyone in the Situation Room watched the President, waiting for him to say something, give his orders, give them all something to do - a mission, a solution - but Fitz remained frozen, his eyes unfocused.

Cyrus reached out and touched his arm.

"Mr President?" he called.

It took another couple of seconds before Fitz moved. He turned to the video-conference screen where the NSA Director was waiting for an answer.

"Can you repeat, please?" Fitz asked.

He didn't look like a man who had not heard, he looked like a desperate man terrified of having misheard and not letting himself hope just yet.

"Of course, Mr President. I can now confirm that Delta Air Lines' flight 828 is back, sir. I have a whole team on scene processing as much evidence as possible but everything seems to match the data we have on DAL 828. All the passengers are accounted for, as well as the flight crew."

"All the..." Fitz cleared his throat. "All the passengers are accounted for?"

The NSA Director seemed confused.

"Hum, yes, sir. As I said, all the passengers and crew on the manifest are accounted for."

Fitz' whole body sagged and his head fell into his hands, trembling for a few seconds. Cyrus was afraid he was going to have to get him out before he crumbled in front of everyone but Fitz lifted his head back up and took a deep breath and Cyrus could almost see life being injected back into his body.

* * *

**So sorry for the late update, I haven't been feeling great and found it difficult to write! Hope you enjoy and do not hesitate to leave me a review, they always make my day! Thank you very much to everyone who favourited, followed, and reviewed the first chapter! Thanks for reading **


	3. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Olivia was starting to get restless when some agents came to their side of the hangar and told them their friends and family had been contacted and they would be able to see them in an hour. Time went by slowly, everyone was impatient to see their family and put this experience behind them. All Olivia wanted was to go back to her apartment and sleep, she couldn't wait for Abby or Quinn to get there and drive them back to Washington.

However, just as time for the families to arrive got closer, three agents came to their little group and asked Olivia to follow them.

"Why?" Harrison asked before Olivia could even move. "Why would you only need her when we're about to leave?"

The agents didn't answer him and asked again for her to follow them.

Olivia touched Harrison's arm to reassure him and said "It's okay, I'll go with them and see what they want. I'll meet you back here afterwards."

Neither Harrison nor Huck and Alexis seemed very reassured. They all looked suspiciously at the agents and were reluctant to see her go but there wasn't much they could do so Olivia followed the agents, smiling to her people, all the while trying to figure out why they would need her specifically.

They led her to a private room upstairs, asked her to wait inside, and left. Olivia leaned against the wall opposite the door. What was this all about? Maybe she shouldn't have yelled like that at the agents in the interrogation room. They were looking for anything or anyone to blame for their five-years-in-the-future nonsense and get angry at them might not have been the wisest thing to do.

She glared at the door, seriously considering just knocking on it and demanding for the person opening it to let her know what was going on. This wasn't the most danger she'd ever been in but it didn't felt good all the same and she really wanted to get out of there and just-

The door opened and what seemed to be an army of men in suits came in. She didn't have time to look at them all or count how many of them there were before two of them were right in front of her asking her to stand still while they searched her. Dumbfounded, she didn't move while one of them patted her and the other scanned her with a metal detector wand.

Once they were done, they stepped back and stood on each side of the door, not taking their eyes off her. One of them knocked twice on the door sharply, still watching her. Their expressions did not let anything transpire as to what was about to happen and Olivia held in her breath.

After a couple of seconds of nothing happening, Olivia regained her senses and breathed deeply. She didn't want to appear too rattled and surprised when whoever was about to come in would arrive. If she was about to be interrogated as a suspect of some sort of crime, it would be better for her to look calm and composed.

It didn't take long for the door to open again but no matter how well prepared she thought she was for what was about to happen, when it opened, she couldn't hold back her gasp of surprise.

"Fitz?" she whispered.

It was indeed Fitz. Except he was surrounded by four more agents and somehow looked very different - older, more experienced, more powerful, exhausted.

He stopped a few feet away from her, his eyes going up and down her body twice before they stopped on her face. He took a big breath then...

"Hi."

"Hi."

They hadn't done that in a very long time, and for the first time in years, she felt the connection they'd had when they had first met. She took a step forward, her eyes still anchored to his. All that she needed right then was to hold on to him and just breathe but she needed to know that was what he wanted too. She waited for him to take the next step.

Fitz still seemed to be drinking her in but then turned his face away, his eyes closed and wincing as though in pain, his breathing heavy.

"Can Ms Pope and I have the room?" he said, still not looking at her.

When none of the agents standing around the room reacted, he raised his eyebrows and demanded once more, his voice harder.

"Can Ms Pope and I have the room."

It wasn't a question this time. It was the demand of a powerful man who was used to be obeyed and knew this order wouldn't be any different.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea, sir. It would be safer if you'd let us stay with you, sir," one of the agents who came in with him intervened.

"I wasn't asking, Tom. Leave us the room."

"Yes, sir." Tom gestured for the other agents to leave. They all got out one by one, as quickly and quietly as they had come in. Right before he closed the door, Tom turned back.

"We'll be right outside if you need anything, Mr President."

Olivia held her breath and felt her heart stop for a moment.

"Mr President?" she whispered questioningly as the door closed behind the lead agent.

Fitz did not answer. He was turned towards the door, and she wondered what was happening. She heard him let go of a shaky breath before he turned around to face her.

"'Mr President'?" she whispered again, needing a verbal confirmation that this was in fact real and she hadn't misheard.

Fitz still didn't answer her - he stared at her with a hunger she had never seen in his eyes before. For a second, she thought he was about to launch himself at her and devour her but before she had even finished formulating the thought, he crumbled to the ground.

Olivia froze in shock - she had never seen him like this before - but snapped out of it when Fitz's entire body started shaking with uncontrollable sobs. She hurried to him and kneeled beside his trembling body. She reached for him, uncradling his head from his hands to have him rest against her chest. She stroked his hair back and forth, shushing, and gently rocking him in a vain effort to comfort him.

In between sobs, she could hear him whispering her name again and again and again as though he couldn't believe she was there. She couldn't understand what was happening or what had happened to Fitz and even though they hadn't left it in good terms the last time they had talked, Olivia couldn't not comfort him. Seeing him being this hurt pained her.

It went on for what could have been hours until Fitz reached to her and held onto her shoulder. A gesture that would have normally been unnoticeable, but as he did, Olivia could feel the distinct imprint of a ring on his finger, pressing against her skin. She had never given him a ring. Their wedding had been a spontaneous decision, they had gone to city hall and got married with two witnesses and that was it. He had given her a ring a week afterwards but she had never came around to doing it herself.

She stiffened and pulled back, looking at his hand resting on her shoulder and there it was, a golden band wrapped around his finger. He must have realized what was going on because he raised his head from her chest and, with a finger below her chin, tried to make her look at him. When she resisted his attempt, he whispered her name softly.

"Who?" she asked, just as quietly, not wanting to let her feelings transpire.

She couldn't take her eyes off that gold band. Nothing had ever hurt her as much as seeing that ring on his finger.

"Livvie..." he whispered again.

"Who, Fitz?"

"I thought you were gone..."

"_Who?_"

"Mellie," he sighed in defeat, knowing there was no avoiding this conversation.

She startled and pushed back violently, looking at him as he landed on the ground. She took a few steps back and ran her hands in her hair. Mellie. Of course, it was her. It had always been her. And yet, somewhere along the way she had convinced herself that he would never do anything of the sort to her, that he would keep all his promises. Even though they hadn't always been in sync about what they wanted out of their life together, she had always envisioned their little house in Vermont and their life together as a married couple. And here she was, standing in front of the love of her life who was married to someone else. Someone he had promised he didn't have any interest in, nor would he ever.

"I want to go back with the others," she demanded. She had to get out of that room as quickly as possible. Her breathing accelerated and she paced around the room, her hands going from her hair to her wedding ring and back to her hair again. Realizing how she must be looking, she stopped pacing and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Olivia, we need to talk, please."

"There's nothing to talk about, get out. Let me go back to the others."

He moved towards her, his hand reaching for hers. She tried going back to her best defense mechanism - pretending she wasn't affected by the situation - but as soon as his skin touched hers, she felt tears rising to her eyes and a pain like she had never felt before take hold of her heart. So she did the only thing she could think of - she screamed.

She was right to do so because as soon as she started screaming, the door flung open and the army of secret service agents invaded the room, pulling the president out, keeping her at distance.

In a matter of seconds, the President was gone, the agents holding her arms had released her, and she was left alone in the room, her pain as only company.

* * *

**Here it is, hope you enjoyed! I'm sorry it's not as long as the previous chapters but it's their first meeting after five years so I hope it reached your expectations! As always, thank you very much to everyone who supported this story, it really helps keeping me motivated and excited about publishing! Review? :)**


	4. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

After a little while, some FBI agents came back to the room and escorted Olivia back to the others. They all looked at her worryingly when they saw appear but before they could ask any questions, the doors were opened and the families were let in.

The first family to be reunited started the concert of crying and screaming and soon after, the hangar was filled with people thanking God for this miracle.

Harrison, Huck, Alexis and Olivia were waiting on one side for Abby or Quinn to show up as well as Alexis' parents. Some agents had rounded the hangar a few hours before, asking for the names of people they would like to contact and Harrison and Huck had no family to contact so they only gave Abby and Quinn's names. Not wanting to face Fitz right away, Olivia hadn't given his name, hoping it would allow her a few more hours to make a decision. Guess she didn't need that time anymore. The decision had been made.

Surprisingly, the first familiar face Olivia saw was Stephen's. He slid in between two families hugging and appeared in front of her. He looked so much older than the last time she'd seen him but still the same old charming Stephen. He looked at her for a few seconds, disbelief written all over his face, before sweeping her up in his arms.

"I've missed you, Olivia Pope," he whispered in her ear.

She smiled, face shoved in the crook of his neck and squeezed his middle. After a moment, he moved away and went for a hug with Harrison and Huck.

"God, I thought I'd never see any of you again," he said once he'd stepped back. "It's good to see you all."

"Stephen? What are you doing here?" Olivia asked.

He hadn't been working with them for over a year now. No matter how well they worked together and how much he loved his job at OPA, he had decided - at Olivia's encouragement - to leave them to find a job that would allow him to be with his new wife more often. She had called him a few times in the past months, missing him, missing the easiness that came with their friendship, but she hadn't seen him since he had left DC.

Stephen's answer was drowned in by the arrival of Alexis' parents who launched themselves at her, her mother sobbing and hugging her so tightly it looked painful, her father embracing both women in his arms, silent tears running down his face.

Just then, Quinn appeared and promptly started crying upon seeing them.

"I can't believe this is real!" she cried from behind her hands.

Her appearance was what shocked Olivia most. She'd seen her only days before and yet she looked like a totally different woman. Her hair was a lot shorter, only up to her shoulders now, and she seemed a little rounder, but what was most striking was her face. She looked so much older than she should have after only a couple of days.

Olivia stepped close to her and hugged her, shushing and telling her everything was alright, but over her shoulder, she looked at Harrison and Huck and saw the same incomprehension and fear on their faces. After what had happened upstairs, she was starting to think that just maybe the five years in the future thing might be true but seeing Quinn looking so different was a shock.

When Quinn had calmed down, Olivia stepped back and smiled at her. Quinn smiled back before going to the guys and hugging them too.

Olivia had so many questions but she started with something she deemed simple.

"Where's Abby, couldn't she come?"

Quinn and Stephen exchanged a look Olivia didn't quite understand. Quinn shifted her weight from one leg to the other a few times, avoiding to make eye contact with them. Stephen was more likely to give her a straight answer so Olivia turned to him. He sighed heavily before raising his eyes to meet hers.

"She..." he cleared his throat. "She got into a car accident. About two years ago. She didn't..." Olivia held her breath. "She didn't make it."

"What?" Olivia whispered. "No! It's not... It's not possible, we were with her a little over forty-eight hours ago, how can she be-?"

Stephen looked at her, compassion written all over his face, and took her in his arms. Only when she heard him shush as he started stroking her hair lightly did she realize her whole body was shaking. When Stephen whispered "It's okay, we're gonna figure this out," in her hair, she started crying.

Olivia wasn't the kind of person who cried in public or displayed their emotions that much, but in that moment, she felt lost and unable to understand - let alone control - the world around her and she broke down. Because in that moment, she truly believed that she had lost over five years of the world but couldn't start to comprehend how or why.

Once Olivia had stopped crying and Harrison and Huck were shaken out of their shock, they finally left the hangar. Right before they were let go, they were given clear instruction not to speak to any member of the press and to stay available for any callbacks from the NSA or FBI if need be, but other than that, they were free to resume life as usual.

As soon as the passengers and their families got out of the gates, the dozens of reporters waiting there started screaming all kinds of questions - some about the plane but most of them were directed at Olivia.

"Ms Pope, will you be contacting a divorce lawyer?"

"Ms Pope, are you planning on suing the President?"

"Ms Pope, where have you been during the past five years?"

Before any of them could react, soldiers came out of the hangar and formed a huddle around them, helping them making it through the hoard of photographers and into the parking lot.

Once they had made it through, they hurried to the car. Alexis left with her parents who had given their cell numbers to Olivia in the hangar in case she needed to contact them.

Olivia, Harrison and Huck got into a car with Quinn and Stephen who drove them as quickly as possible out of there. No one talked for a while - they were all stunned by everything that was going on and didn't know where to start. Eventually, when they got close to the city, Quinn asked where they wanted to go.

"Home," Olivia answered, Huck and Harrison nodding along.

Quinn and Stephen exchanged another wary look and Olivia realized she probably didn't have an apartment anymore and she certainly couldn't go back to the house now that Fitz was...

"Hum..." Quinn started.

"That's okay," Olivia said. "What about the office? Do you still have it?"

Quinn nodded and directed the car towards the office while Olivia looked out the window. The city looked the same, everything looked the same and yet, everything seemed different.

"We didn't have a choice about your apartments but we couldn't bring ourselves to get rid of the office." Quinn told them as they were getting out of the car.

Once they got up to their floor, Olivia realized that even though they had indeed kept the office, they had changed it so much, it was barely recognizable. The walls were a different color, the doors separating the conference room and one of the offices had been removed and most of the furniture had been replaced. At least there still was the long table in the conference room. However, it was now covered with computers and cables going everywhere, half a dozen screens forming a half circle.

"You know," Harrison said, turning towards Quinn and Stephen. "If this is an elaborate prank or joke you're playing on us, you have to know this is not funny. Not one bit funny."

Quinn looked confused.

"What do you mean a prank?"

"I mean the whole five years in the future crap and you changing your hair, and your face, and the office looking so different, and basically everything!"

"Well, it has been five years, what did you expect? That you'd come back and everything would be the same?"

"But it hasn't been five years! That's what we've been telling everyone at the hangar!" Harrison exploded. "We've seen each other three days ago, Quinn! You were there! How can you not remember?"

"How can I not remember?!" Quinn's face went red as she took a step towards Harrison. "I don't know what you're playing at Harrison but you're right, it is not one bit funny. For five years, I've been praying for a miracle, hoping that one day you'd come back. We've looked for you everywhere, we've spent years looking for you! Hell, I have a constant alert set on my computer searching for your names and photos to come up on any hospital or police database and still this very morning I checked it, hoping that something had come up and I'd missed it. So you don't get to come back after five years, looking all fresh and healthy and accuse us of lying. Where the fuck were you? Where have you been hiding all this time?"

"On the plane," Huck answered her softly. "We didn't go anywhere. We left Atlanta a little over two days ago and we landed an hour and a half later, Quinn. We didn't go anywhere, that's what Harrison's telling you."

"How can this be possible? Do you realize how crazy you sound?!"

"We're sounding crazy? Quinn, if someone's sounding crazy here, it is not us! How can we take a one hour and thirty minutes Atlanta - Washington flight and land five years in the future?"

Stephen stepped in just as Quinn was about to answer angrily and raised his hands to tell them to settle down.

"Okay, time out everyone, you need to breathe." They all took a moment to clear their minds before Stephen turned to Olivia. "Olivia? What's your version?"

"On July, 12th, 2014, we solved the Anderson case and went to the airport with Alexis to go back to DC. Once there, there was a call from the company asking for volunteers to take a later flight in exchange for $400. Harrison, Huck, Alexis and I took the offer and got tickets for flight 828 while Quinn and Abby decided to go back earlier. They boarded their plane and left and a few hours later, at 10:14 pm, we boarded out plane and left. Apart from the turbulence about twenty minutes in, it was a normal flight, then we were asked to land at another airport than planned. After that we were asked to deplane on the tarmac where lots of federal agents came. Then, we were kept in the hangar, under military surveillance, while the feds were interrogating everyone. About forty hours after we landed, you got there and we left."

Stephen and Quinn looked at her with stunned expressions on their faces.

"What about you? What's your version?" Olivia asked.

"Abby and I got on our plane, the flight was normal, we arrived on time in DC. We landed and each took a taxi to get back home, get a couple hours of sleep and take a shower. Since I had a car, I told Abby I would come and pick you up from the airport so you didn't have to face the press. When I got there, there was no available information about your flight on the screens and the airport staff refused to tell us anything. A few hours later, it was leaked to the press that DAL 828 went missing from the radars halfway through the flight during a storm. After that, there was of course an investigation and search parties and everything but no one ever found anything - it was like the plane had vanished in the air. So, after a little while, everyone gave up and no one even talked about it anymore, much less searched for anything. Abby, Stephen and I wouldn't give up of course, so we kept looking for anything, any sign of any of you or the other passengers, we looked into the airline company, the pilot, the co-pilot... We thought about insurance fraud, murder, terrorism, everything really, but nothing ever lead anywhere because there was no proof anywhere.

"At some point we had to give up your apartments and you and everyone on that plane was declared dead in absentia. We tried to keep OPA running, but without the O and two missing As, we didn't have as much success and eventually we had to look for other jobs. Abby started working as a campaign manager, Stephen got into the Baxter&Richmond law firm, and I started my own PI business. Five years later and here we are..."

Upon seeing Harrison, Huck and Olivia's disbelieving and stunned faces, Stephen added his own version of events.

"I was working when I got a call from Abby telling me that you three went missing with the daughter of a client in a plane. I packed up everything and came back here. Quinn's telling you the truth, we looked for everything but never found a single trace of you anywhere. We went back to Atlanta we interrogated everyone who was in that airport that day, we talked to the Delta Air Lines guys, we explored every lead but there was nothing to be found until a few hours ago when Quinn called me and told me that you were back and that I had to turn on the TV. A family of one of the passengers must have talked because at about the same time as when she received a call to come and get you, it was all over the news that DAL 828 was back. You seem to have trouble believing us but it _has been_ five years. I don't know how that's possible and it doesn't make any sense but since you're saying that you never got out of the plane, then you spent five years on that plane because there were five years between the moment your flight departed and the moment it landed."

Olivia sighed and sat heavily on the chair nearest to her. Nothing about any of it made sense.

"I don't have the energy to face any of this right now," she said, head in her hands. "I'm exhausted and I honestly just want to sleep right now, I can't start trying to make sense of all of this. Can one of you take us to a hotel or something?" she asked Stephen and Quinn.

"No need," Stephen answered. "I have a spare bedroom and a comfortable couch, so if Quinn has room for one, we can fit you all in for a few days before we find other arrangements."

"Works for me," Quinn said. "I also have a spare bedroom."

Olivia looked up at Harrison and Huck who both nodded, so she got up and they all moved towards the exit. Once in the underground parking, it was decided that Huck would go with Quinn while Harrison and Olivia went with Stephen.

The car ride was once again a silent affair and they reached Stephen's apartment quickly. Once there, he gave them a quick tour and told them to make themselves comfortable.

In the corridor, Harrison gestured for Olivia to take the bedroom and she smiled at him gratefully before going in. She took off her coat and sat on the bed.

Stephen showed up after a few moments, smiled at her, handed her a towel and a small pile of clothes and got out without saying a word, closing the door behind him. She went into the en-suite bathroom and peeled off her clothes before stepping in the stall. She stood beneath the hot water for a while, grateful to finally be able to get rid of the filth of the past couple of days. She allowed herself to shed a few tears for Abby, for Fitz, and for the shitty situation they were in before pulling herself together and getting out.

Once she was dry and had put on Stephen's clothes - sweatpants, a large tee, and a sweatshirt - she got out of the bedroom. She found Stephen in the kitchen, pouring red wine into a large glass that he handed her when he noticed her standing in the doorway. She gave him a small smile and sat on a high stool at the counter, sipping her wine while observing the rest of the apartment. It was very much Stephen - spacious, luminous, charming and clearly expensive. The kitchen was magnificent but she knew he probably used it as much as she used hers - when she used to have one at least.

"So," she said. "I guess Baxter&Richmond pays well."

"Yeah," Stephen smiled. "But God am I bored."

"Really?"

"Yeah, so much paperwork and not a lot of excitement. I miss the good old days when we'd walk into a hangar three millions short and still get out with the package." Olivia smiled at the mention of that particular memory. "Now, it's a lot more sweet-talking a few billionaires into signing this or this contract and if I'm lucky, I'll get to deal with a few spicy NDA."

Olivia didn't know what to answer so she remained silent.

"Harrison is in the shower and judging by the look he had before going in, he's gonna stay there a while." Stephen said after a moment. "You may not want to hear this right now but I'm still gonna give it to you, better have it all out right off the bat."

Olivia remained silent, knowing what was coming.

"You disappearing on the plane did not calm the press down, quite the contrary. They were very much excited about "The Missing Wife" as they called you. I think the Post came up with the name and it stuck after that. They dug everything they could about you and laid it out in the news - past lovers, potential current affairs, former clients, everything... Grant hadn't made any comment before but when the plane went missing, they had to address it so Cyrus made a public statement. Grant was even considered as a suspect in the disappearance of the plane - the press went crazy over that, saying that it was all a set up to make him look sad and heartbroken and that it would appeal to the empathy of Americans who would vote for him but it died down when he got out of the race."

Olivia gulped down the rest of her wine and picked up the bottle to pour herself another glass - she needed it if she were to listen to Stephen tell the rest of the story.

"After that, he disappeared from the public sphere for a while until it was announced he was marrying Melody Williams. There was a lot of talk about the legality of him re-marrying but since you were declared dead, your marriage was null. Soon after, they started his new campaign for the Primaries together. They spun it well - a broken-hearted man who found love and passion again and who was finally ready to lead this country into a better time. His polls numbers were through the roof until an article was published about Mellie being unfaithful to him and after that his campaign went downhill. But any time there was something wrong, you would pop up again in the news, an old picture of the two of you suddenly found, him grieving by your grave - there's an empty grave with your name on it by the way - and of course they would always end with a photo of him and his new wife who saved him from his sorrow. You weren't managing his campaign and yet, you're still the reason he managed to win the election. Though he did not win with the kind of numbers he was thought to be able to achieve when he started. He's currently in his first year and his approval ratings are starting to go up but I guess that now that you're back, the press court and his lawyers must be in a frenzy."

Stephen paused for a while, letting the silence stretch and allowing Olivia to compose herself. After that, he went onto less personal or sensitive subjects and by the time Harrison had gotten out of the shower and joined them, he was updating her on the current senators. She only half-listened, her mind drifting back to Fitz.

Her second glass empty, she bid goodnight to the two men and went to bed. She tried to sleep but couldn't help but think about how the news of her return had been received at the White House - Cyrus was probably furious to have such a huge scandal falling on them - especially now that they were finally in the White House. Did Mellie know that Fitz had come to see Olivia? If so, how did she react?

Eventually, she went to sleep, thinking about their first few months together - those were happier and easier days. They had met through Cyrus who had been commissioned by Fitz's father to groom him for President and Cyrus had brought Olivia in to help him out. It had been lust at first sight and very soon after that - despite Big Jerry's strong disapproval - they were in love and engaged. They were happy.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed, sorry for the delay :)**

**I know the dates don't match the real presidential elections but that's the best I could do to make it all still coherent. Don't hesitate to review ;)**


	5. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Olivia managed to sleep for a couple of hours and when she got up the next morning, she found that Harrison was still sleeping on the couch and Stephen had already left for work, leaving a note on the kitchen counter as well as a few twenties and a burner phone. The note read "Went to work, hope you slept alright. Do not hesitate to help yourselves to anything you need. Use the money to do whatever you want today, I'll meet you tonight. My number and Quinn's are in the burner."

Olivia smiled - that was Stephen, he always thought about everything and made sure the people he took care of (whether it was his clients or his friends) had everything they needed.

She thought about what they should get done today but her mind was still a bit fuzzy. She turned to the coffee machine - a cup or two would do the trick and help her wake up fully and make the decisions she knew she had to make.

She was only beginning her second cup when Harrison appeared in the doorway, looking as rested as Olivia - which was to say, not at all. She got out another mug from the closet where she had found hers and poured him some coffee, leaving room for milk as she knew he liked it.

"Thanks," he mumbled when she handed it to him.

He went to the fridge and was silent as he got the milk carton out and poured some in his mug before putting it back. He then leaned against the counter and saw Stephen's note, his fingers brushed against the bank notes and the burner phone. He snorted and when Olivia raised an eyebrow, he shook his head.

"We don't even have money of our own. How pathetic is that?"

The question being rhetorical, Olivia didn't answer but she silently agreed, it was pathetic. And scary. They had boarded a plane as regular US citizens with names, families, bank accounts, apartments and jobs and when they landed, they were nobodies.

"I turned on the TV yesterday night, before going to bed. Just in case it was a joke. If so, every channel on the network is in on it. I'm still not convinced," Harrison said.

Olivia knew this was Harrison's way of telling her he knew about Fitz without having to say it clearly. He turned on the TV and saw every channel talking about the President's missing wife's reappearance.

They sipped their coffees in silence and then proceeded to get ready for the day. They didn't really have anywhere to go to since they didn't have jobs anymore and they couldn't re-open their bank accounts or get new phones numbers without being declared officially alive again and it would probably take a few days for whoever was in charge of that to do it. Yet, they both knew they couldn't stay hidden away in Stephen's apartment, doing nothing - so they got ready, took the burner and the money on the counter, and got out of the building.

"What do you say?" Harrison said, once in the street. "Bus or cab?"

"Well since we've got to make it through the day with that money, let's play it cheap: bus."

They walked to the nearest bus stop and while Harrison was checking where the bus would take them, Olivia called Quinn to ask her about Huck. Quinn told her he was with her at the office and they were welcomed to join them. Olivia relayed the news to Harrison who sighed.

"Well, it's gonna take us at least an hour to get there and we have to take like three different buses so I hope you're ready to go on an adventure and pray nobody recognizes us."

After a while, the bus got there and they went in. They both sat at the end of the bus, Harrison looking out the window and Olivia keeping her head down so as to not make eye-contact with the other passengers and get noticed.

A couple of stops later, Harrison gestured for Olivia to get out.

"We have to switch for another line here."

There were a few people waiting at the stop so Olivia guided Harrison to the side to wait. She was looking at an old man reading a journal in which DAL 828 had made front page when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in the front of her head, followed by a woman's voice whispering to her "_Not this one_."

She flinched at the pain and looked around for the source of the voice. Harrison caught her elbow and pulled her to him.

"Are you alright, Olivia? What's going on?"

Olivia looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary and no one was anywhere near enough to whisper in her ear. The pain had disappeared too.

She rubbed her temples and sighed. She was way too tired, emotionally and physically.

"I'm fine," she assured Harrison, nodding at him.

The bus appeared at the end of the street and everyone gathered around, waiting for it to pull over at the stop. Just when the bus arrived and they were about to join the others, Olivia heard the voice again, joined with the same pain. "_Not this one,_" it whispered once more.

Chills ran down her spine and she felt her muscles starting to tremble. The mere thought of getting into the bus filled her with dread. It didn't make any sense but the feeling was so persistent that she grabbed Harrison's arm and shook her head at him when he turned to look at her.

"Let's wait for the next one."

"What? Why?" he asked, looking at the bus and her in turns.

"I don't feel it," she said, trying to find a reasonable excuse. Her eyes caught the old man with the newspaper getting in the bus and she looked back at Harrison. "That man over there was reading something about DAL 828, I don't want to risk him recognizing us."

Harrison nodded, and they stepped back. The further they went from the bus, the better Olivia felt. Once they were a few yards away from the stop, she breathed deeply and felt calm once more.

The bus departed and she looked as it drove away. It stopped at the light and Olivia suddenly felt foolish. It was stupid, they should have taken that bus instead of waiting half an hour in the cold for the next one.

The light turned green and the bus took off as Olivia looked away. A loud tire screeching noise brought her attention back to the end of the street and she turned her head just in time to see a SUV crossing the intersection at full speed, completely out of control, and crashing against the side of the bus. There were a few moments of complete silence before people started shouting and running towards the accident.

Harrison and Olivia stood frozen at the bus stop, watching everything unfold before their eyes.

"Jesus," Harrison whispered after a while. "How many times are we gonna escape death before it actually takes us?"

* * *

Over two hour later, they were walking down the street that lead to their old office. Olivia couldn't get that damn voice out of her mind. She couldn't understand how it was possible. How had she known that something bad would happen? Could it possibly be a coincidence that she had heard a voice telling her not to get on a bus that ended up laying open on its side, just down the road, filled with wounded and dead people? If not, how was it possible?

Harrison's arm shot out in front of her and he pushed her to the side abruptly. Olivia shot him an affronted look.

"Look," he said pointing down the street "the reporters are still there, we won't be able to get in through the front door without them seeing us."

Olivia looked at the office building about fifty yards away. There was indeed quite a large crowd of reporters and news outlet crews that she had not seen, caught up in her thoughts as she was. Being a public personality and the former missing wife of the president made her the perfect target for the media to focus on to cover the DAL 828 story.

"You're right, we're not gonna be able to get in unnoticed."

She turned around and they walked in the other direction until she was sure they were far enough to be out of the reporters' radar. She then took out the burner phone from her coat pockets and called Quinn again.

"Yeah?" she picked up.

"We're in the street near the office but we cannot get in, there are too many reporters down the building and we don't have a car to get down to the parking lot."

Olivia heard shuffling on the other side and the characteristic creaking sound of the chair as Quinn got up from her chair and went to the window.

"Yeah, I can see them. Well, it's almost lunch time anyway so Huck and I will take the car and pick you up so we can go eat something if that's okay with you."

"Yeah, it's good," Olivia answered. "We're on the east side of the street, near the newspapers stand."

"Okay, give us five minutes and we're there." Quinn disconnected.

Olivia turned to Harrison.

"They're coming down and we're getting some lunch."

"Good. Maybe Quinn will pay since we're penniless."

"Not quite, we still have Stephen's money," Olivia pointed out.

"She doesn't have to know that," Harrison said, winking at her.

Olivia laughed and the man at the news stand turned towards her. She saw him observe her for a couple of seconds before she turned around to escape his insisting eyes but that wasn't enough since he started screaming her name.

"Hey? Are you Olivia Pope? It's Olivia Pope, look it's Olivia Pope!"

His screams first brought the attention of the few people around them and then the reporters', who were still further down the street and started running towards her. Harrison and Olivia found themselves surrounded by the people at the news stand in their back and the crowd of reporters running to them. Soon they were all there, screaming all kinds of questions at her and shoving microphones in her face.

"Ms Pope, how does it feel to be back after almost five years?"

"Ms Pope, can you tell us where you've been for the past five years?"

"Ms Pope, have you seen the President?"

"Ms Pope, are you planning on rebuilding Pope & Associates?"

"Ms Pope, are you going to claim your rights as First Lady?"

"Ms Pope, are you and the President getting back together?"

At those last couple of questions, Olivia couldn't help the stricken expression that came upon her face. Harrison was doing his best to protect her from the crowd but it wasn't enough, they took photo after photo of her, recording her every reactions at their provocative questions.

Olivia was looking around for an escape from the press when Quinn arrived and parked roughly on the side of the road, as close to them as possible. Huck opened the passenger door and jumped out of the car, immediately pushing aside the reporters to get to her. Once he managed to grab her arm, Harrison and him each took a side and they almost carried her to the back of the car. The three of them got in and Quinn drove away as quickly as possible, the whole thing captured by the dozens of cameras on the side-walk.

From the back of the car, Olivia got a sense of déjà-vu. It felt like years ago that Huck and Harrison had helped her in a similar manner to escape the aftermath of the video leak. In a way, it had been years ago, but where had all that time went?

* * *

"You've gone silent again," Harrison pointed out to Olivia from across the table.

Quinn had brought them to a small Italian restaurant where they were unlikely to get noticed and Olivia was indeed silent. She was thinking about all those questions the press had asked her and realized she didn't have any answers. She didn't know what had happened, she didn't know what was happening to her, and she most certainly didn't know what she was going to do. Even though OPA didn't technically exist anymore, she was still the leader of this team and felt a responsibility towards them - especially towards Huck and Harrison since she had dragged them with her in this mess. She lifted her head from the menu and looked at Harrison.

"I'm fine," she said. "Just thinking about what we're gonna do this afternoon."

"And?"

"I don't know," she admitted.

Harrison laughed.

"Glad to see I'm not alone."

"You can come with me to the office," Quinn said. "I've got a case you could help me with. I've been stuck on it for a couple of days, I could really use a fresh eye."

They all enthusiastically agreed to help her - it would help thinking about something else than the mess their lives had become - so after a quick lunch (Quinn did pay for everyone), they got back to the office by going through the underground parking lot, and spent their afternoon helping Quinn on her case.

At around eight o'clock, Stephen called on the burner and Olivia told him where they were. He joined them at the office and they all spent the evening talking, laughing and eating Chinese take-out.

"It's been so long since I've last eaten Chinese," Harrison moaned as he inhaled his sweet and sour chicken. "Almost five years, I'd say."

Quinn, Stephen, and Olivia chuckled at that while Huck shook his head, the hint of a smile in his eyes.

"That one was way too easy Harrison, I've known you to do better," Olivia said.

"Give me a break, for all we know, we've all lost brain cells in that time-machine plane. It's not my fault I'm not as funny as I used to be. Time-travel has changed me."

"Speaking of time-travel," Stephen intervened "have you thought about what you wanted to do?"

Olivia looked at Harrison and Huck to see them shaking their heads in response.

"That's okay," Stephen said "there's no pressure, it's only been a day and you can stay at my apartment as long as you want but I imagine you must be eager to get back a semblance of normalcy." He turned to Olivia. "And I know you'll feel better once you have a goal and a plan to achieve it, so I say the sooner, the better."

She nodded at him. She most definitely needed to find a goal and a plan.

"I just don't know what to do yet," she told him. "I'm too much of a public figure right now to be able to start OPA business again, and anyway, you are with Baxter&Richmond, Quinn is doing her thing, and Abby..." She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "Abby is gone. So I'm not sure OPA can still work, or if you even want to continue," she said, turning to Huck and Harrison.

"I've nothing better to do," Harrison said.

"I'd rather continue too," Huck told her.

She nodded.

"Thanks, guys. But that doesn't change the fact that we wouldn't be able to take on a case right now with the press chasing me everywhere and watching our every movement. Plus we would have to find a new office, and we still don't have bank accounts, or phone numbers so that would make business difficult."

"Well," Stephen said "Quinn and I could get you new phone contracts until you can get ones in your names. As for the bank accounts, it shouldn't be too long until they officially resuscitate you and allow you to open new ones. You should also be able to get back the money you had, as well as the benefits from the sale of your apartments."

"And you being the centre of attention right now doesn't necessarily mean it's bad for business. You can spin it. They want to talk about and follow you everywhere? Good, because while they do that, you go about your business and you take very public meetings with high ranking politicians, use the press to your advantage and get their attention on the cases you're working. All you have to do is change the angle."

"That's actually a really good point, Quinn," Stephen noted.

"But," Harrison added "it's only good as long as you don't do any public declarations about the President or go to the White House. That would be political suicide and would take their attention off OPA and the cases."

"Don't worry," Olivia said "I wasn't planning on doing either."

"Good," Harrison said.

"And concerning the office, you can just use these ones. It's only me here and I don't use all the space, far from it. To be honest, I never needed an office this big, I only kept it by nostalgia. And hope maybe."

Olivia smiled sadly to Quinn. She couldn't even begin to imagine what it must be like to have all your friends and colleagues disappear and looking for them in vain for over five years.

"So that's settled," Stephen added. "Tomorrow, we can get you the new phones, and as soon as possible we'll start the paperwork to get your money and identities back and OPA will be up and running again in no time and better than ever."

They all nodded. It wasn't much of a plan but Olivia already felt better for having discussed it with the team and started the process.

After that, they talked a bit more, then, Harrison and Olivia went back with Stephen to his apartment while Huck went with Quinn again.

"Do you want the bedroom tonight?" Olivia asked Harrison when they got in.

"Nah," he answered "I'm good with the couch, it's quite comfortable."

Olivia squeezed his arm in thanks and went to the bedroom. She took a quick shower, got changed, then, like the previous night, went to the kitchen in hopes of finding some wine to drink to help her relax after that long day. Once more, she found Stephen, freshly showered too, waiting for her with two glasses of red.

"Here you go," he said, handing her one of them.

"You know me too well," she whispered.

"You're very predictable when it comes to wine."

They drank in companionable silence for a while. Olivia kept thinking about her day and the strange voice she had heard that saved both her and Harrison from getting on the bus.

"I feel like I'm missing something," she told Stephen.

She wasn't planning on telling him about the voice, but she did feel the need to confide in him about how she felt.

"It doesn't make any sense, you know?" she turned to him.

He nodded, taking a sip of wine.

"And I don't really know what to do about it. I don't know how to find answers about what has happened to us on that plane, how it is all possible. I know I need to start re-building my life but it seems almost ridiculous to go back to life as though nothing has changed when everything is so different and incomprehensible."

She fell back into silence. Stephen didn't speak either. There wasn't really anything to say - he didn't know either what had happened or how to begin to understand how it was possible.

Her thoughts drifted back to Fitz and the questions she was asked about him by the press today. Harrison was right, she wouldn't be able to go see him without creating a scandal now that he was married to someone else and was sitting in the higher office in the world. They would all be watching, waiting for her to make a mistake. Doing so would be extremely damaging both for Fitz' presidency and her own career - or what was left of it.

Still, she couldn't stop thinking about him. She wanted to see him, hold him, kiss him. She wanted him to hold her tight into his arms and not let go until she felt better. She had this ache in her that could only be eased by Fitz. She felt like she was drowning and everything was so out of control and the only thing that would allow her to get back to the surface and breathe would be to see Fitz. But he wasn't hers anymore. To tell the truth, he hadn't been hers for quite a while now. He hadn't been the one to hold her up for over a year before she got on that damn plane.

"And then there's the President," Stephen said, reading her mind.

Olivia didn't answer. Stephen already knew her too well and she knew she couldn't see Fitz, she didn't need anyone reminding her of what she could and should not do.

"You should go see him."

Olivia froze, then turned to him slowly.

"What?" she whispered.

"You should go see him," he repeated. "I know you've had your doubts about your relationship with him, I know you weren't sure you wanted the same thing for the future, especially concerning your career and family life. But all of this is in the past now. It may not seem like it to you because it feels like it's only been a week but to him it's been over five years. And I also know that despite all your doubts, you love him. You've always loved him and you're always calmer and anchored after you've seen him. You sleep better too. So if what you need is him, you should go see him."

"I can't," Olivia murmured, her head down.

"Why not?"

She looked back at him with an eyebrow raised.

"I feel like I shouldn't have to point out the obvious here, but he's married to another woman. A woman he promised me times and times again he had no interest in."

"Olivia, come on! You know him and you know Mellie. He's never been interested in her and to be honest, no matter how good a politician he is, he's never been really able to fake being in love with her."

"No, even if I was ready to forget the fact that I am now his ex-wife and she is his current wife - which I'm not - it's too dangerous. I don't have an apartment anymore and anyway, he's the President, he wouldn't be able to go there even if I did have one, and I certainly cannot go to the White House incognito."

"Then get in touch with Cyrus and plan something together."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," she whispered. "And I don't think Cyrus would agree to help me ruin the past decade of work he's put into Fitz to get him where he is today, destroying it all with one visit."

Stephen stayed silent for a while before setting down his glass on the counter and turning his entire body towards her.

"Olivia," he whispered "the man has been living for the past five years thinking that you were dead. Now, I don't know him much but he's never hid how much he loved you. It transpired in his every move, his every look. The man has always been absolutely sure and had no problem saying to the world you were the love of his life. It must have been hell on earth for him to live thinking that you were dead but never being able to have complete closure. You're right, it may not be a good idea because if you get caught, it might end both of your careers, but if you ask me, it might be worth taking the chance. I can't speak for him but if I were him, I wouldn't care if my presidency was over if it meant I'd get to see the woman I love after thinking she was dead for over five years."

Olivia got quiet again. She hadn't told him about seeing Fitz at the hangar - she hadn't told anyone. She knew he was right in a way and that Fitz was probably hurting right now but every time she thought about Mellie Williams being his wife, every time she thought about him marrying anyone else but her, her heart ached deeply. She wanted to scream. She wanted to tear his heart out. She wanted him to suffer as much as she was suffering. It wasn't fair, it was cruel and probably unnecessary given the fact that he had five years of suffering ahead of her but it was the way she felt.

She couldn't see him. She needed to, everything in her screamed for him to be close, but she couldn't think about him without wanting to curl up and cry with the pain of it all, there was no way she could see him.

"What about you and Georgia?" she asked Stephen eventually.

"Didn't work out."

"How come?"

"I couldn't do it."

She squeezed his arm.

"Normal is overrated," she told him with a sad smile.

He chuckled.

"Normal is most definitely overrated with you."

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed :)**

**Sorry for being so late, I don't really have an excuse except for the fact that I wasn't really feeling like writing Olitz for a while but sheer boredom got me back into the fandom and I couldn't be happier! ****Thank you so much for all the reviews, they helped a lot getting back into writing this fic!**** I hope you're all staying safe at home and that your loved ones are alright 3 **

**This is my contribution to help distract you from the anxiousness of all of this mess 3 3**


	6. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

"Sir?"

Fitz tore himself from his thought and focused back on his chief of staff. Cyrus had an open file on the table in front of him and his eyes were on him, clearly waiting for an answer. Seeing his expression, Cyrus sighed, closed the file and sat back in his chair.

"Sir, we need to talk about Olivia Pope."

Fitz flinched. As the years had gone by, everyone around him had learned not to talk about Olivia or say her name but now that she was back, she was everywhere.

Faced with Fitz's lack of answer, Cyrus kept on going.

"Mr President, we need this situation fixed as soon as possible so we can go back to business as usual and actually run the country instead of being in constant damage control."

"This _situation_ is my wife being back from the dead, Cyrus."

"No, your wife is in the East Wing doing whatever it is First Ladies do over there. Olivia Pope is not your wife anymore. Hasn't been for a few years now, remember?"

Fitz cradled his head in his hands and sighed. The pulsing in his temples was driving him crazy. He hadn't been able to sleep for the past two nights - truth be told, he hadn't been able to sleep for the past five years but the past two nights had reached new levels of insomnia.

He had lain in bed beside a woman who had been his wife for over three years now, yet his thoughts had been entirely focused on another woman. His whole body yearned for her and every time he closed his eyes, she was all he could see. Guilt invaded his body at the mere thought of touching her and kissing her - this wasn't the kind of man he had wanted to be but his marriage with Mellie had left him yearning for human touch and intimacy.

His marriage with Olivia hadn't been perfect, far from it, but she had never deprived him of her touch. But the fact was, the woman lying beside him was his wife. He had made her promises he had to keep. He had responsibilities he needed to face. He had to be the kind of man he had promised himself he would be. He didn't want to be his father.

So he got up each morning and went to work, trying to forget that the love of his life was alive and well, living in the same city, yet as unreachable as ever. There was no easy way to fix the _situation, _only more suffering.

God did he want her.

A knock on the door interrupted his trail of thoughts. Lauren, his assistant, opened the door.

"Mr President, Mrs Wiley is here for your daily appointment. Should I let her in?"

As Fitz nodded, he felt the weight on his shoulder ease a little bit. This was why he was going through all of this pain.

Mrs Wiley came into the room and Fitz met her halfway. He bent down and lifted his son from her arms into his own.

"Hey Teddy Bear!" he cooed. "How's your day going sweet boy?"

His two years old boy starting babbling about different toys and flowers he'd played with during his morning walk in the garden. After a few minutes of listening to his son, Fitz turned to Cyrus and nodded.

"Send the papers."

* * *

That morning, Stephen drove Harrison and Olivia to the offices. There was once more a crowd of reporters waiting down the building. They immediately noticed the car and took photo after photo of them getting through the crowd and into the parking lot. Once they were inside, Olivia and Harrison got out of the car and Stephen drove off to work.

Huck was waiting for them at the door of the offices. They all got in together and found Quinn in her office in the middle of a call. She raised one finger, telling them she would be with them in a minute.

"Let's get some more coffee, I'm going to need it to stay awake throughout the day," Olivia said.

The coffee pot was already full so Harrison got three cups out and started pouring them a generous portion each. They leaned against the counter and drank in silence.

Olivia turned around and looked at Quinn in her office. She looked so mature, so responsible and powerful. She wasn't the young woman she had been when she had first started at OPA. No matter what she said, she wasn't ready to give up that power and independence to go back to the way things were. Olivia had to find a solution to make sure she didn't lose her and her abilities while still making OPA run.

As she was pondering on that, Olivia suddenly got a strong sense of urgency running through her. She turned around and caught the milk bottle Harrison had just knocked off the counter.

"Wow, good catch Liv!"

Olivia barely registered Harrison's comment as she stared at the milk bottle in her hand. How had she known?

Feeling Harrison and Huck's eyes on her, she put the bottle back on the counter and pushed it out of the way.

She thought back to the voice she had heard at the bus stop. She hadn't heard the voice again but she couldn't convince herself that it was only a product of her imagination. It had felt too real, it had sounded so clearly in her head. And now this. It wasn't the only things either - ever since they'd been back, she'd had these weird feelings and awareness of her surroundings.

It would be so easy to dismiss it all and put it all on exhaustion but if time-travel was possible, maybe this was too. Maybe she wasn't losing her mind. And if it was indeed real, it couldn't be only her, maybe Harrison and Huck felt it too.

"I need to ask you something," she said.

"Anything," Huck answered.

Harrison looked at her and nodded, inviting her to keep going.

"For the past couple of days I have been... hearing things."

"What kind of things?" Harrison asked. "Voices?"

"Not really voices, more like my own voice but telling me things. Has either of you felt the same thing?"

"No," Huck said.

Harrison didn't answer.

"I know it sounds weird," Olivia told them, disappointed they didn't know what she was talking about. Maybe it was just her. "It's not just voices but a feeling I get, things I know that I can't possibly know."

"Do you want to know what it sounds like?" Harrison said. "It sounds like you're losing your mind, that's what it sounds like."

"Thanks," Olivia said dryly. "I feel so much better."

"I'm not saying this to be mean, but we have to be realistic here. What do you think? You think the NSA sent us back home and just forgot about us? Of course not! Especially not you."

"He's right," Huck said "you have to be careful about what you say."

"I mean, you could not be more the centre of attention here. The government and literally everyone else in this country is watching your every move so you can't just walk around claiming to be hearing voices." Harrison paused, looking at her in the eyes. "Please, be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Before Olivia could answer anything, Quinn came in the kitchen, effectively cutting the conversation short.

"So," Olivia said, faking enthusiasm "shall we get started?"

The others followed her to the conference room where they started planning how to bring OPA back to business.

Quinn got out all the files from OPA she had kept in Olivia's former office.

"I've never really used it," she said, referring to the room "I just put the client files and all OPA paperwork in there just in case we ever needed it some day."

"Good thing you did, otherwise, we wouldn't have much to go on," Olivia told her.

They divided the client files into four piles and each took a sit around the table - Olivia and Queen at each end and Harrison and Huck on each side. They each had a pile and started putting them into different categories: clients files which weren't useful anymore, clients who would support them, those they had dirt on, and those who owed them a favor.

After several hours of working through the piles of files, Harrison got up and sighed.

"This is useless, everything dates from over five years ago, it's not useful to us for anything."

"We could call in some favors," Olivia said.

"But nothing guarantees anyone would agree to do us a favor now! I mean, you're the President's ex-wife, no one knows how the both of you stand and I'm pretty sure, most of them wouldn't take the risk of going against the White House by associating with us until the subject of your return is dropped and not at the top of the hour of every news channel. We were doing good before the plane thing but we weren't important enough for people to disregard something as important as going against the President himself."

"Then, you look for a new client," Quinn said. "You go to someone who is in need, with a scandal coming out or that has just come out and you offer your services pro-bono so that you can work on that and rebuild OPA's reputation while buying your time while the news of the plane's return dies down.

"That would usually work but there are no scandals. Like Harrison said, we're the story, there's literally nothing that is going to get on top of that right now. It might be the best time for everyone's dirty little secrets to come out, no one is paying attention to anything but the plane and me and the President," Olivia answered.

"So what do we do?" Harrison asked.

"I don't know," Olivia sighed. "We should probably call it quit for the day and maybe we could help you out on one of your cases, Quinn?"

A knock on the door cut off the conversation and they all turned towards the hall. When a second knock came through, they all turned to Quinn.

"Were you waiting for someone?" Huck asked.

"Hum, no. Beside you, no one was supposed to come here today."

"Olivia, stay here, I'll check it out." He got up and got out of the room. A second later his voice carried through to the conference room. "Olivia, you should come here."

She got up and went to him. At the door was a man in business attire.

"Ms Olivia Pope?"

"Yes?"

"My name is Raymond Jenkins, I'm representing the Grant family. I have some papers here for you."

Everything stopped for a beat.

"Please, come in." Olivia took a step back and gestured for Jenkins to step in.

She walked towards one of the offices, hoping she didn't look as rattled as she felt, and closed the door once they were both in. She could see the concerned looks on her colleagues' faces from the corner of her eyes but couldn't bring herself to meet their eyes and reassure them.

She took a breath and turned to face the lawyer waiting for her.

"Please sit down," she told him before sitting behind the desk.

"As I said, Ms Pope, I have some papers that belong to you as well as some papers for you to sign. We can take a look at them now or we could wait for your lawyer to join us...?"

"I'll be fine, thank you."

He nodded and got a file out of his briefcase. He opened it, took the piece of paper on top and placed it in front of her.

"As you can see, here is a copy of the certificate of annulment for your and Mr Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III's marriage, dating from three years ago."

During the next fifteen minutes, Olivia was presented with document upon document stating the end of her marriage to Fitz. When she finally walked the lawyer out of the offices, she was hanging on by a thread.

She clasped her trembling hands together and walked back to the conference room.

"So," she said as she sat down "where were we?"

She grabbed a file at random and started flicking through it, not seeing a single word.

"Olivia..."

She looked up at Harrison. "I'm fine. We need to keep on working."

"You're not fine. What did he want?"

Olivia reported her attention to the file in front of her.

"He gave me the marriage annulment certificate as well as copies from my bank statement before our disappearance and a copy of our prenup. He then gave me a stack of papers for me to sign that stated I agreed to the annulment, I agreed not to sue the President, I agreed not to talk about the President or his family to the press, I agreed not to contact the First Lady, I agreed to renounce to our house, I agreed not to publicly talk about my marriage to the President and in exchange, I was granted with a reasonable sum of money and assets including the money from my apartment, the money that was in my account before my disappearance and a generous compensation for the annulment." Her voice was robotic, devoid of tone and emotions.

"Tell me you didn't sign," Harrison said, his tone curt, knowing full well she had, having seen her sign papers through the glass doors.

"I have."

"We could have fought the annulment or at least get you more money!"

Olivia dropped the file on the table and glared at Harrison.

"Fight for what exactly? Tell me, what is there to fight? He is the President of the United States of America, he has an army of lawyer and a house full of staff behind him. I make one move against him and they'll destroy me. There's no chance we'll ever be in business again, I'll lose everything and I won't be able to help you either."

"That's not true, there's always something to do and you know it."

"Not this time."

They dropped the subject after that and helped Quinn on one of her cases. When Stephen got there at the end of the day, they were looking through surveillance tapes. Olivia got up to go to the bathroom before leaving and when she got back, everyone looked at her in a tense silence and she knew they had told Stephen about the annulment papers.

Fortunately, Stephen didn't say anything. They got into the car and made their way back to the apartment in silence. Olivia was grateful for that silence, she wasn't going to be able to handle much more coming at her right now.

They stopped at a light a couple of streets away from Stephen's apartment and through the passenger window, Olivia saw a blue car parked a few yards away.

_Open it._

The voice was back and so was the headache.

_Open it._

Olivia squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed back a moan. She breathed deeply and forced herself not to move from her seat. Harrison and Huck were right, she couldn't allow herself to be caught hearing voices when she was in such a precarious position.

As Stephen drove away, the headache augmented and Olivia could feel something inside her pull her towards that blue car. The further away they went, the more painful the pull became.

She powered through the pain and kept on breathing to calm herself as discretely as possible. She was used to dealing with pain, this was just one more thing to deal with.

* * *

After their take-out dinner, Harrison went for a run and Stephen and Olivia sat down to watch the news.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"Olivia," he sighed. "It can't have been easy to sit there and learn that your husband had gone through the process of annulling your marriage while you were missing."

"It makes sense," she said, her eyes focused on the TV. "He was about to run for President and didn't want anyone questioning the validity of his marriage to Mellie. I would have advised a client to do the same thing."

"Except he's not your client. He's the man you promised to spend the rest of your life with. And now, for reasons that are completely outside of your control, you find yourself having to accept that you're not married anymore and that he's married to someone else and is in a position of power, making it impossible for you to do anything about it."

Olivia didn't answer.

"We're just worried, Liv," Stephen said. "It's a lot coming at you all at once and you look like... Like you're not fighting anymore."

"You don't understand," she said in a pained whisper.

"Then tell me."

"I know it looks like I'm giving up. Like I'm letting him have it all. Because he's the President or because he's married. But..." She gulped down some of her wine and finally turned to him. "I just can't do it anymore. I can't do this anymore. I can't keep on hurting him, it's too painful. We haven't been working for a long time and if he's finally found someone who's making him happy, someone who gives him what he needs, then... I'm not going to fight it. I want to let go of all this pain we've created together."

"And if I thought this was the answer, I would let it go, but Olivia, I can see how painful this is for you."

Stephen's phone rang and saved Olivia from having to answer. A couple of minutes later, after making sure she'd be fine, he was going out the door on his way to a precinct to get out one of his client's son from spending the night in jail.

After Stephen's departure, Olivia tried to keep on watching the news but her headache got worse and worse. Her ears started ringing and finally, she couldn't push the voice out anymore. _Open it, open it, open it, open it, open it, open it, open it, open it, open it._

She got up from the couch, threw her shoes on, grabbed the keys and went out the door. She half walked half ran down the few streets separating the apartment from the intersection where she'd seen the car.

The closer she got to the car, the better she felt. She was only a short distance away when the ringing in her ears stopped and the pressure in her head finally eased. Olivia sighed in relief, then she raised her head and stopped abruptly.

Harrison was standing just a few feet away looking entranced by the blue car.

* * *

**I hope you are still doing well and that the lock-down is not too hard on you!**

**Here's a little something to distract you and give you a dose of Olitz (even though, they don't interact in this chapter but I hope I delivered the angst).**

**Tell me what you thought xx**


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